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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22521469">Stories of the Second Self: The Way is Shut</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner'>John_Steiner</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Alter Idem [34]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Urban Fantasy - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:16:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,519</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22521469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jolene had settled into her new un-life with her human son and five other vampires in an historical mortuary that they agreed to restore and preserve for the city. After putting her son, Terry to bed he comes back out to tell her that he heard the front gate to the grounds open. At first assuming Terry was just afraid of the dark, Jolene and her undead roommates discover that indeed someone is intruding on the grounds and go out to learn who would be dumb enough to trespass onto vampire land.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Alter Idem [34]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stories of the Second Self: The Way is Shut</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Okay," Ramsey said, coming back inside. "It's up."</p><p>"We can go out in the day?" Jolene asked with hope in her solid black eyes.</p><p>"Yeah, and without protection, just not too far from the estate," Ramsey explained, "Though, you'll notice a brightness in the day. The important thing is it'll reflect UV light."</p><p>After spontaneously turning, Jolene grouped up with other vampires, and together they bought up an old mortuary. Having been declared an historical site kept the original owner from finding buyers, and the city had to review the upkeep plan the vampires had before finalizing the sale.</p><p>No one had been buried on the grounds for decades, and the original graves had been moved years ago, making it perfect for the six vampires living there to exist in seclusion and a fair amount of real estate buffer from edgy neighbors.</p><p>"Is the mist permanent?" Jolene asked.</p><p>"The lady who taught me said it needs to be recast about once a month, but that's less trouble than mowing the lawn out there. Trees'll die too, but I kinda like the look we have out there in autumn."</p><p>Jolene noticed light outside the window, and realized it was from Terry's room. Getting up from the recliner, she headed to his room and opened the door.</p><p>"What's going on, sweetie?" Jolene asked her son.</p><p>Unlike herself, Terry hadn't changed, and was the only living person in the house. The other vampires swore they would never feed off him, which was the biggest condition Jolene had before moving in.</p><p>"The gates are open," Terry pointed, out the window. "I heard them creak."</p><p>"No one's gonna get you in here," Jolene soothed, reaching up to close both the blinds and indoor shutters.</p><p>Yet, as Terry said, the gates were open partway. Jolene brightened up her expression, when she returned to Terry's bedside and tucked him in. "I'll make sure you're safe, okay?"</p><p>"Okay," Terry echoed, and added, "Could you say goodnight to the monsters in the closet and under the bed for me?"</p><p>"Let's do it together," Jolene gleamed.</p><p>Terry hopped out of bed and knelt down with his mom to pull the sheets up revealing stuffed toys. "Good night monsters under the bed."</p><p>Then Jolene walked him to the closet and opened it, for Terry to continue his nightly ritual. "Good night monsters in the closet."</p><p>Jolene smiled at Terry and scooped him up easily, swinging him around a couple times, before landing him on his bed again. He climbed under the covers and Jolene asked, "Is there a monster we're forgetting?"</p><p>"Good night mom," Terry said, sitting up to hug her and receive a kiss.</p><p>He rolled over to sleep, and Jolene went to the door to switch the light off. In the dark, she watched his body heat slowly spread to the blankets and pillow. She might not feel the hormonal surge of motherhood, but Jolene still cared about her little boy.</p><p>Closing the door behind her, Jolene went back to the living room to ask Ramsey, "Did you leave the gate open?"</p><p>"No," Ramsey answered, and looked out the living room window. "The spell requires that I stand where I want the epicenter to be, so I did it from the porch. You want me to look around?"</p><p>"I'll do it," Jolene said, but went back to her bedroom first.</p><p>She used to keep a gun in the old house after the divorce, but on becoming a vampire Jolene realized that it might not be so useful, depending on what the intruder was. When she slid a large lock box out from the bed and entered the combination, she revealed both a machete in its sheath and a can of pepper spray. Jolene also had a baseball bat in the closet, but figured anyone trespassing at this hour, on this place, needed extra incentive to scram.</p><p>Karen, Ramsey, Gordon, Mikey, and Quinn all assembled in the living room, with Ramsey saying, "I think we should all check."</p><p>Jolene strapped the machete sheath to her thigh and opened the front door, "I'll get the gate."</p><p>The six of them filed out, and broke off in different directions to scout out the sizeable yard. There were a few trees and several clusters of bushes, but otherwise the estate was fairly open and easy to see across. There was no walkway to the gate, which Jolene particularly enjoyed, because it had made Child Protective Services people uncomfortable to approach the house.</p><p>Reaching the gate, Jolene noticed that lock and chain were missing. Checking the ground where the two gates met didn't reveal either. Turning back to the house, Jolene worried that something else beyond an intrusion or usual dare by kids to tread the grounds was taking place.</p><p>Closing the gates anyway, Jolene figured it was better than inviting more trespassers. She followed the rod iron fence one way for a few yards, and then the other to see if she could spot something unusual. However, the grass already dead this late in the season, she couldn't pick out anything.</p><p>"Hey you guys," Jolene called out, "Check around the bushes. Someone took the chain and lock."</p><p>Her night sight was beyond belief, but none of Jolene's other senses were heightened. Unsure what else to do, Jolene picked a direction along the fence and followed it all around until returning to the gate, which took around ten minutes.</p><p>"Hey, over here!" It was Mikey over by the pond near the back of the grounds. "Check this guy out!"</p><p>Jolene ran over and saw Mikey standing over a guy with antlers, who Mikey apparently dragged out from either the trees or bushes that wrapped halfway around the pond. Mikey was a big guy, and with the mouth full of cutlery, he must've been an imposing sight for this other supernatural rooted out of hiding.</p><p>Then, Jolene got a look at the guy's face. "Brett, what are you doing here? You know, the court gave me full custody."</p><p>"I'm sorry, but I didn't think you'd take my call," her ex-husband said, shielding himself from whatever undead wrath he thought Mikey would unleash.</p><p>"You're supposed to call the lawyer if you want to visit," Jolene replied, "That's what the judge said."</p><p>"It's not that," Brett answered, before being cut off.</p><p>"You weren't working," Jolene scolded, feeling the old arguments bubble up to the surface, "You'd just hang out all day with your new ager friends soaking up vibes from stones or some shit. I needed you to help out, either with bills or cleaning up the house. I didn't even care if you wanted to be a stay-at-home dad, but you sucked at that too."</p><p>"Jo," Brett's voice rose, "They're coming!"</p><p>"Who?" Ramsey scoffed, after he and the rest arrived. "The religious fundies? Yeah, we gave them reason to fear ever coming near us again."</p><p>"Someone else," Brett spat out quickly, and recoiled when Mikey raised a fist.</p><p>"Someone else who?" Jolene demanded, shaking her head with irritation at his being vague.</p><p>"I don't know," Brett replied, "Heard it on the news. Someone's going around killing vampires. The cops ain't doin' shit about it."</p><p>Karen leaned over to grab Brett's antlers and give them a hard tug. "He's a Fae. How'd you catch him, Mikey?"</p><p>"He made too much noise to miss," Mikey cracked with a sinister smile, "He huddled in one spot for so long that the bush and ground started warming up. I was wondering why I couldn't see his ass until he waved a hand."</p><p>"What's a Fae?" Quinn asked Karen.</p><p>"Apparently, there are a few different supernaturals popping up," Karen explained, "See his feet there? And the ears? On my way home from buying blood I got pulled over by a Fae cop. He had his entire truck hidden under an illusion, until he kicked the sirens on and scared the shit out of me."</p><p>"Did he think you were feeding off people against their will?" Jolene asked.</p><p>"No, just asked if I'd seen anything unusual." Karen shrugged.</p><p>"You didn't tell him where you live, did you?" Brett appeared concerned at her story.</p><p>"He didn't ask," Karen answered, "What's the big deal?"</p><p>"This guy, or maybe it's more than one," Brett suggested, "They're going around at night and burning vampires to death. Or, you know, real dead."</p><p>"That's it," Jolene griped, "I'm getting a fuckin' dog."</p><p>"Get several," Ramsey said, tilting his head her way, "We'll chip in."</p><p>"I hear German shepherds are good," Mikey suggested.</p><p>"Fuck that, get pits," Gordon huffed, with his arms folded. "Scare the bejesus outta whoever hops the fence."</p><p>"Well, 'couple shepherds and maybe a rottweiler," Ramsey proposed, getting nods and hums of approval.</p><p>"You can go now," Jolene told Brett, and then took a step toward him. "You know, like this goddamn second."</p><p>Brett scrambled away, giving the six vampires a wide berth, and then booked it for the gate. It occurred to Jolene then, that Brett didn't have the lock or chain on him. Checking where Mikey said was his hiding spot produced nothing.</p>
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